A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce

Plot Overview

Analysis of Major Characters

Stephen Dedalus -
The main character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Growing up, Stephen goes through long phases of hedonism and deep religiosity. He eventually adopts a philosophy of aestheticism, greatly valuing beauty and art. Stephen is essentially Joyce's alter ego, and many of the events of Stephen's life mirror events from Joyce's own youth.

Mr. John Casey -
Simon Dedalus's friend, who attends the Christmas dinner at which young Stephen is allowed to sit with the adults for the first time. Like Simon, Mr. Casey is a staunch believer in Irish nationalism, and at the dinner he argues with Dante over the fate of Parnell.

Charles Stewart Parnell -
An Irish political leader who is not an actual character in the novel, but whose death influences many of its characters. Parnell had powerfully led the Irish National Party until he was condemned for having an affair with a married woman.

Dante (Mrs. Riordan) -
The extremely fervent and piously Catholic governess of the Dedalus children. Dante, whose real name is Mrs. Riordan, becomes involved in a long and unpleasant argument with Mr. Casey over the fate of Parnell during Christmas dinner.

Uncle Charles -
Stephen's lively great uncle. Charles lives with Stephen's family. During the summer, the young Stephen enjoys taking long walks with his uncle and listening to Charles and Simon discuss the history of both Ireland and the Dedalus family.

Eileen Vance -
A young girl who lives near Stephen when he is a young boy. When Stephen tells Dante that he wants to marry Eileen, Dante is enraged because Eileen is a Protestant.

Father Conmee -
The rector at Clongowes Wood College, where Stephen attends school as a young boy.

Father Dolan -
The cruel prefect of studies at Clongowes Wood College.

Wells -
The bully at Clongowes. Wells taunts Stephen for kissing his mother before he goes to bed, and one day he pushes Stephen into a filthy cesspool, causing Stephen to catch a bad fever.

Athy -
A friendly boy whom Stephen meets in the infirmary at Clongowes. Athy likes Stephen Dedalus because they both have unusual names.

Brother Michael -
The kindly brother who tends to Stephen and Athy in the Clongowes infirmary after Wells pushes Stephen into the cesspool.

Fleming -
One of Stephen's friends at Clongowes.

Father Arnall -
Stephen's stern Latin teacher at Clongowes. Later, when Stephen is at Belvedere College, Father Arnall delivers a series of lectures on death and hell that have a profound influence on Stephen.

Mike Flynn -
A friend of Simon Dedalus's who tries, with little success, to train Stephen to be a runner during their summer at Blackrock.

Aubrey Mills -
A young boy with whom Stephen plays imaginary adventure games at Blackrock.

Vincent Heron -
A rival of Stephen's at Belvedere.

Boland and Nash -
Two schoolmates of Stephen's at Belvedere, who taunt and bully him.

Cranly -
Stephen's best friend at the university, in whom he confides his thoughts and feelings. In this sense, Cranly represents a secular confessor for Stephen. Eventually, Cranly begins to encourage Stephen to conform to the wishes of his family and to try harder to fit in with his peers—advice that Stephen fiercely resents.

Davin -
Another of Stephen's friends at the university. Davin comes from the Irish provinces and has a simple, solid nature. Stephen admires his talent for athletics, but disagrees with his unquestioning Irish patriotism, which Davin encourages Stephen to adopt.

Lynch -
Another of Stephen's friends at the university, a coarse and often unpleasantly dry young man. Lynch is poorer than Stephen. Stephen explains his theory of aesthetics to Lynch in Chapter 5.

McCann -
A fiercely political student at the university who tries to convince Stephen to be more concerned with politics.

Temple -
A young man at the university who openly admires Stephen's keen independence and tries to copy his ideas and sentiments.